Railway-joint expamsiost-jack



J. MCNEIL.

RAILWAY JOINT EXPANSION JACK. APPLICATION FlLED DEC.27, 1920. l ywfpqfg, Patente May l?, 192i,

2' q717,213 INVENTOR.-

`PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E. IVICNEL, OF LOS ANGELES, CLXFORNIA.

RAILWAY-JONT EXPNSONFJACK.

Application tiled December 2'?, 192th To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, JAB/ins E. li'efollnin, citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Railway Joint Expansion Jack, of which the following is a specification.

An object of this invention is to provide an expansion jack which can be operated upon the rails of railways without interfering with the traffic thereon, and which can be left in position to allow trains to pass over the joint that is being expanded without danger to the train and without any interference with the work of expanding the joint other than is necessary for the safety of the workman. l

The force required to expand the joint so as to insert the requisite insulating block or other piece which it may be desired to insert in the space between the rails at the expanded joint, is necessarily very great; "and various appliances have heretofore been proposed by which to exert this force to expand the space, but so far as l am aware no practical jack has yet been proposed for exerting said force without necessitating such application of the ack to the rails as will require it to be removed in order to allow a train to pass.

An object of this invention is to simplify the jack and to avoid all danger of derail- Inent by passage of a train over the track while the jack is in place.

Ease of application, operation and detachment are other objects.

l have discovered that by providing a nut and a purchase piece, each having a lateral extension orbase adapted to fit the side of the rail and to engage the web, the ball, and the ilange of the rail, and means by which they may bc securely xed in such engaging position at the abutting ends of the rails, as by bolts passed through the fish plate bolt holes of the web, that said nut and purchase piece can be made to practically apply the pressure necessary to expand the joint; such pressure being applied by means of a screw screwed through the nut and acting on the purchase piece which 1 prefer to construct with a socket or seat for the end of the screw; and that there need be no part of the device extended over the top of the rail or into the path of a car to be run on the track.

@ther objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the accompany- Specification cf Letters Patent.

Patented May 17, 1921.

Serial No. 433,264.

ing drawing', the subjoined detail description and the appended claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention.

Figure 1 is a fragmental plan of a railway track at a rail joint to which this jack is applied with the parts in position to allow a train to pass.

Fig. 2, is a view analogous to Fig. 1, partly in section along the line of the fish bolt holes. of the rails.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the thrust nut detached.

Fig. 4 is a plan of said detached thrust nut.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the thrust nut detached.

6 is a fragmental side elevation showing the joint and jack mounted thereon and a wheel in position to run over the same.

Fig. 7 is an elevation of the jack in place on the T-rail joint; said rail being in section on line 7, Fig. 1 and the lever up.

Fig. 8 is a view analagous to Fig. 7 with a lever lowered.

ln Figs. 7 and 8 the appliance is in a position reverse to that shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the expansion screw.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged view of one of the bolts shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the thrust bearing or purchase.

Fig. 12 is an end view of said thrust bearing.

13 is a plan view of said bearing.

rlhe jack is shown applied on opposite sides of the rail in Figs. 1 and 2.

1 and 2 represent abutting alined railway rails constructed in the usual manner with flange 3, web 4 and ball 5. Said web is provided with the usual bolt holes 6 to receive the fish bolts. The nut 7 is provided with a base 8 having end extensions 9 beyond the faces 10 of the nut which are perforated by the threaded orifice 11. Each of the flanges 9 is provided with a bolt head socket 12 and bolt hole 13 to receive the head and body of the securing bolts 14. 15 indicates two stiffening plates one for each ofthe rails 1 and 2. Said stiflening plates are adapted to fit against the web 4 in the space 16 between the flange 3 and the ball 5 of the rails.

The expansion screw 17 is screwed through the threaded orifice 11 of the nut and is provided with transverse orifices 18,

19 to receive the lever or hand spike 2O hy which the screw 17 is turned.

The purchase or thrust block 21 corresponds in general character to the thrust nut 7 with the exception that instead of the threaded oritice 11 there is a seat for the end of the screw 17. Said seat is preferably in the form of a cavity 22 conformed to the semi-spherical tip 23 of the screw 17 thus allowing a slight variation of position; and also 'forming an` anti-friction bearing in which the tip of the screw revolves and operates to push the thrust nut and the pur chase apart from each other when the screw is screwed home in position to expand the joint as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 6.

In practice the rail connecting lish plates, not shown, are removed, and the bases of the nut and thrust block are secured to the ends of the rails respectively by the nuts and belts 14 which are tightened securely. The screw 17 and nut 7 are screwed home so as to shift the rails endwise sufficiently to open the joint for the reception of the insulating block or other separating element, not shown.

If a train should come along` while the work in progress, the wor rmen will siniply withdraw the lever 2O or draw it down into the horizontal position shown in Fig. 8 thus leaving the road free for the passage of the train.

The bases ol the thrust ele-ments 7 and 21 are alined and are nicely conformed to the sides of the T-rails so that when bolted to said rails and the stiiiening hars 15 they are firm and the end thrust by the screws is directed endwise of the rails without deilecting the rails.

to correspond with the lish plate holt holes 'Y in the web ot' the T rail; a socket piece provided with inici-al extensions adapted to lit the space between the flange and hall of a T rail and provided with orifices adalited to register with the fish plate holt holes oit the f T rail; bolts extending through the orifices; means to tighten the holts to clamp said eX- tensions to 1the rails respectively; a screw screwed through said nut and provided with a tip revolving,` in said socket; and means to operate the screw.

2. ln a jack for expalnlinel joints between T-rails, thrust eleinents having' bases conformed to the sides oi the rails and project* ing] laterally therefrom; means to i'iX said bases to alined rails, and .means cooperatingr with the thirst elements to force them apart for the purpose of enlarging the joint between the ends of the rail.

3. The coml'iination with a thrust nut5 a thrust block having a socket in one tace. means to secure said thrust nut andv thrust block to the sides of abutting ends of the T-rails; and a thrust screw screwed through the nutand having a tip seated in the socket; and a detachable handle 'For turning` the thrust screw.

In testimony whereof 1 have hereunto set my hand at Los ngeles, California` this 9th day of December, 1920.

JAMES E. MCNEIL. lVitness:

JAMES R. TowNsEND. 

